part 6
PART 6
The staff reports began with the florist.
Celeste had demanded the woman redo three arrangements because the lilies looked “middle class.”
Then the driver.
Celeste had refused to sit in a car after learning the chauffeur’s son had eaten lunch in the back seat between routes.
Then the kitchen staff.
She returned a breakfast tray untouched because the server’s accent “ruined the atmosphere.”
Adrian lowered his head as each report was read.
Celeste looked smaller with every page.
Not remorseful.
Cornered.
Walter listened without interruption.
That was worse.
Celeste finally snapped.
“People exaggerate.”
Marcus spoke from the door.
“No, ma’am.”
She turned on him.
“You work for him.”
Marcus looked at Walter.
Then back at her.
“I work for the estate.”
Walter said quietly, “And the estate is not stone.”
“It is people.”
Evelyn continued reading.
One report said Celeste told a groundskeeper his muddy boots were “visual pollution.”
Another said she joked that the old east-wing housekeeper looked like part of the antique collection.
Another said she asked whether staff could be kept out of photographs during foundation events.
Adrian looked up sharply.
“You said that?”
Celeste’s face tightened.
“It was about branding.”
Walter leaned forward.
“Branding is what people say when they want cruelty to sound strategic.”
Celeste looked at Adrian.
“Are you going to let them do this to me?”
Adrian stared at her.
For months, that sentence would have worked.
Are you going to let them?
As if love meant defending her from truth.
But he had heard the water hit his grandfather’s face.
He had seen the staff straighten when Walter removed his cap.
He had seen every polite report become a mirror.
“No,” Adrian said softly.
Celeste’s eyes lit with hope.
Then he finished.
“I am going to let you answer for yourself.”
Her face collapsed.
Walter turned to Adrian.
“Good.”
It was the first approval Adrian had received from him in months.
It hurt more than criticism.
Because it came only after shame.
Celeste stood abruptly.
“This is a setup.”
Walter nodded.
“Yes.”
Her eyes widened.
“I knew you would show me who you were if you thought no one important was watching.”
He looked down at his wet sleeve.
May you like
“You did.”
Read the full story 👉 Walter admits the test was intentional, and Adrian finally stops protecting Celeste from the truth.
